What do I need to know to make my connecting flight? First time with a layover

What do I need to know to make my connecting flight? First time with a layover - Flight Schedule Screen Turned on

Airline websites seem to assume I've done this before. My extremely limited experience with flying has been direct flights.

  1. Arrive, check-in at the kiosk(s) outside the terminal.
  2. Take bags to airline counter
  3. Go through security
  4. Find your gate

Now I have a layover (in Denver) and I don't know how the system works.

Do I need to go through security again? How do I get a boarding pass if I'm already inside security? Do I need to pick up bags and drop them back off? (Same airline)

I am flying from (from comments):

PDX-DEN then DEN-BNA



Best Answer

You've had a lot of good advice that I'm not going to repeat, other than to say that half a century of travelling the world has taught me that the most important thing is to ask, ask and ask again. Never be afraid to ask -- you won't look stupid, no matter how dumb you may be afraid your question may seem to yourself. Intelligent travellers keep asking questions -- practices vary between airlines and between different airports and different countries.

When booking flights involving a connection I always leave plenty of time between the flights -- at least two hours for an internal connection, and at least three hours if one of the flights is international. Airports are big, confusing places full of confused people. Few airports try really hard to make life easy for passengers. Notable exceptions are Changi (Singapore), Bangkok, and especially Xiamen in China where although there's very little English spoken, it's simply not necessary -- all the staff seem to be on the lookout for lost or confused foreigners and all you need to do is show your ticket or boarding pass and you'll be pointed in the right direction.




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What do I need to know about flight layover?

In general, if you're on a domestic flight, once you land for your layover, you'll pass through a transfer area that will take you to the gate for your next flight without having to check in again. Your bags will automatically pass through to the next flight without you having to collect them.

How do you board a connecting flight for the first time?

Contents
  • Make A Complete Itinerary.
  • Buy A Flight Ticket. Points to note while booking a flight ticket. ...
  • Documents Required And Baggage Limits. ...
  • Travel To The Departure Airport. ...
  • At The Departure Airport Terminal. ...
  • Security Check. ...
  • Proceed Towards The Aircraft (Boarding) ...
  • Arrival At The Destination.


  • Do you only need to check in once for connecting flights?

    Yes, a security check is mandatory when you take a connecting flight. This is because there is a time lag between getting off one aeroplane and getting on-board another to reach your destination.

    Do you need to go through security again for a connecting flight?

    For connecting domestic flights, you almost never have to exit and reenter security, though there are some exceptions at airports where the terminals aren't all connected. For domestic-to-international connection, it's still pretty rare that you have to exit and reenter security, even if you're changing terminals.




    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: LT Chan, JESHOOTS.com, Andrea Piacquadio, Ketut Subiyanto